Fan Lee v Master of the Act Supreme Court

This matter concerned an appeal to the Court of Appeal of the Australian Capital Territory from a decision of the Master of the Supreme Court. The appeal arose from the Master's refusal to grant the appellant, Fan Lee, leave to appeal out of time against a decision of the Registrar. The Registrar had refused to accept an originating application for filing.

The legal issues before the Court of Appeal included whether the Registrar's refusal to accept the originating application was correct, whether the Master erred in refusing leave to appeal out of time, and the competency of the appeal itself. Specifically, the court considered whether the originating application was defective for failing to name the correct party, for not pleading a cause of action, and for not specifying the relief sought. Further issues arose regarding the nature of the Registrar's decision (judicial or administrative), the interlocutory nature of the Master's order, and whether an appeal lay from the Registrar's decision to the Master, and subsequently to the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. President Crispin found that the Registrar was correct to reject the originating application due to its defects, and consequently, the Master was correct to refuse leave to appeal out of time. Justice Gray and Justice Lander both concluded that the appeal was incompetent for multiple reasons. These included the inappropriate joinder of the Master as a party, the interlocutory nature of the Master's order from which no appeal lay to the Court of Appeal, and doubts as to whether an appeal lay from the Registrar's decision in the first place, particularly if the Registrar was acting in an administrative capacity.